The Malik Report

I'm glad that Ken Holland explained his roster moves to the media on Monday afternoon, explaining that the Wings have to a) carry 23 men on their roster and b) spend exactly to the salary cap--which the Wings are doing--to avail themselves of their LTIR cap and roster allowances. Otherwise, Holland would be addressing a Detroit Sports Broadcasters' Association luncheon today with some 'splainin to do.

With Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves out for (as J.J. noted) 24 days and 10 games, and with the Wings accommodating Jordin Tootoo and Jonas Gustavsson's statuses as on the short-term IR, the Macomb Daily's Chuck Pleiness broke the Wings' roster down thusly...

Eaves and Helm are out for a minimum of 10 games, Holland said. By moving Nyquist to Grand Rapids, and placing Eaves and Helm on LTI, the Red Wings are compliant with the cap.

“The cap is very complicated,” Holland said. “IR gets you a roster spot. Players on IR, their money counts against your cap. When you put a player on LTI you get a roster spot plus they're off the cap. The other guys we're going to put on IR, but it doesn't matter (if it's long or short term). You can put somebody on LTI a week from now.”

...

The Wings’ roster now consists of 13 healthy forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies. With Helm on LTI it clears a space for a goalie from Grand Rapids to backup starter Jimmy Howard.

Gustavsson skated with the goalies after practice on Monday, though he will not play Wednesday. Coreau was called up Monday morning from Grand Rapids and practiced with the Wings' goaltenders. Holland isn’t sure who will back-up Howard on Wednesday, but it will either be the former Northern Michigan University standout or Mrazek.

“Gustavsson is on IR, don't know if he's going to be hurt longer than one week or if he's on IR, but he's not playing Wednesday,” Holland said. “So we'll have a backup goalie other than Jonas Gustavsson on Wednesday.”

For the present moment, with Tootoo and Gustavsson recovering from their injuries, and with Gustav Nyquist's waiver-exempt status expiring after he plays in 2 more NHL games, the Wings are likely to continue shuffling players back and forth to Grand Rapids as Holland, Ryan Martin, Kris Draper and the coaching staff determine who they want to place in the lineup on a given night, and who they need to recall and who they need to demote to navigate the sticky wicket that is spending exactly $64.3 million on salaries on a daily basis.

As such, despite having cleared waivers, the team retained Cory Emmerton's services (and $533,000 cap hit), and they recalled Coreau and Ouellet from the Griffins.

Explanations make living with tough decisions easier.

I'm not one to question the coaching or management, as you probably know to your annoyance, because I tend to believe that they have more information about their personnel than we do.

Over the last 24 hours, however, it's even been hard for me to stomach what the Wings have had to do.

I understand that the Wings have to do the best they can to manage their roster until other teams suffer injuries, and the team's able to clear its roster and cap glut (17 total forwards $2.387 million per Capgeek once Helm and Eaves are good to go and Nyquist is back up) via some salary-dumping trades and/or demotions (and lest we forget, the Wings can retain some salary in trades if necessary).

I understand that, as coach Mike Babcock suggested, "Veterans win battles" at this time of year--and I get the concept of Tomas Tatar sitting as hard to stomach as necessary, mostly because I attended training camp and watched as many exhibition games as I could (seven of eight).

I can tell you that as much as I like Tomas Tatar as a player and person, his performance tailed off at the end of the exhibition season, and if Babcock wants to see what Mikael Samuelsson can do, or if we're talking about Todd Bertuzzi "winning" the battle, Bertuzzi did play remarkably focused, intense and offensively sharp from the drop of the puck at training camp, so that makes some sense to me (regardless of whether I like it or not).

But Gustav Nyquist's demotion, despite its cap-and-roster-issue logic, seems baffling. If there was a more "competitive" or "consistent" player on the ice from September 12th to the end of the Wings-Leafs game on the 28th not named Gustav Nyquist, I'd sure as *#$%@& like to know who he was. Nyquist played heart out on every shift, and he still got demoted, because that $950,000 cap hit didn't fit.

I'm not the coach. I'm not the GM. My biggest hockey-related expense right now involves trying to purchase and learn how to operate a very, very cheap DVR so that I can watch the Coyotes and Flyers games that I'm going to miss next week to attend my friend's wedding. I manage an NHL team.

“We like him, he’s a guy we want on the team sooner than later, but unfortunately, we’ve got some difficult cap issues and we’ll start out the way we start out and sort out as we go,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said.

Nyquist signed a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $950,000 this past offseason to stay with the club.

“Justin Abdelkader had the same thing happen to him, (Jonathan Ericsson) had the same thing happen to him, it’s not the first time that’s happened here,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “I’m sure he’s very, very disappointed. But I know him good, he’ll go down and be a real good pro and he’ll be prepared when he gets the opportunity.”

Roster-wise...

“We’re ready to go,” Holland said. “We have 23 able bodies as the coaches’ disposal. We’ll evaluate the roster as we go.”

Once Tootoo returns, which could be as early as Friday, Ouellet could be heading back to the Griffins.

Submitted rosters to begin the season must be in place for only 24 hours before more shuffling can be done.

So we can expect a significant amount of shuffling over the next two or three weeks, especially given that the Griffins only play on Fridays and Saturdays until the last week of October...

And given that, after this weekend's games in Carolina and Boston, and the Columbus Day matinee in Boston, the Wings have a wee road trip to Colorado and Phoenix between the 17th and 19th, and they don't hit the road for a West Coast swing until the end of the month, the Wings won't exactly be pulling Josh Greens (see: the gentleman spent the vast majority of the 2005-2006 season flying between Vancouver and Winnipeg as the Canucks danced with the cap) to get by.

The progress of Joakim Andersson along with the depth in the organization and the re-signing of Daniel Cleary contributed to Emmerton being sent down.

“Cory’s come a long way,” Babcock said. “But really what got a little bit in his way was Andy (Andersson). That’s just the way it is. We felt Dan Cleary was a guy we needed on our team. We’re in a cap situation that isn’t friendly until you get things worked out.”

Therein lies the rub, doesn't it?

With an immovable Mikael Samuelsson and his $3 million deal--at least until the Wings can eat most of his cap hit and convince him to move, if that's possible (no-trade clauses are a pain)--with Tootoo and Eaves needing to play before they can be deemed expendable, and with the same case perhaps true for Emmerton...

The Wings chose to bring Cleary back, at $1.75 million, and they had to know that his, Samuelsson and Bertuzzi's presence would mean less time for Tatar and Nyquist.

"I respect I’m the youngest guy here, so I’ve got to wait for my chance,” Tatar said. “I just have to do everything to get into lineup. But I’m happy I made it here. Now I’m waiting for next challenge.”

The opening day roster was 13 forwards, one of whom was Tatar, as expected. The top-six spots are taken by Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Justin Abdelkader, Johan Franzen, Stephen Weiss and Daniel Alfredsson.

The third line, based on the last exhibition game and Monday’s practice, shapes up as Joakim Andersson centering Daniel Cleary and Todd Bertuzzi.

Cory Emmerton cleared waivers but avoided being sent to the minors Monday because the Wings need a center. The three wingers left are Tatar, Drew Miller and Mikael Samuelsson. Things can change quickly, but coach Mike Babcock pretty much revealed his hand while talking about Tatar.

“I like him,” Babcock said. “I think he’s a good player. He’s a very usable player. He has a knack for the net. But early going in the season, tie goes to the veteran, not the kid. That’s just life.”

Tatar, 22, is on the same path taken by most other young players in the NHL.

“Especially on the Red Wings,” Tatar said, “there’s so many good players, so many old players with experience. Now it’s just time for me to respect that and wait for my chance. I just have to work hard because I know the chance is coming. And when it is open, grab it and hold it.”

Tatar questioned whether he’d fit with the Wings after Cleary was brought in on the opening day of training camp, which, Tatar said Monday made him, “a little shaky. I’m happy I made it here.”

He turned about five shades of gray that day, too--and he told the Left Wing Lock's Sarah Lindenau that he'd rather play in the KHL than but he's made the team, and now he's got to plant a veteran's ass on the bench, or make Emmerton expendable again.

He played 22 games in the NHL last season, and played in all of Detroit's 14 playoff games last spring. Then Gustav Nyquist, 24, also won the AHL championship with the Red Wings' farm team, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

But today he received the sad news that he must start the season in the NHL

"It's tight for spots on the Red Wings, so I have to work hard in Grand Rapids now, and perform there so they bring me back," says Gustav to SportExpressen.se.

He goes to the farm team [on Tuesday].

"I felt good during training camp, and I think I played well, but the doubt that I wouldn't get a spot was [coming from] a voice in the back of my head."

One o the reasons Nyquist had to make way is that he doesn't need to pass through waivers, which is common for older players.

"Yes, that's a reason, too, that influenced my situation."

"The forwards fought like hell for spots"

Dan Cleary was one of the older players who signed a contract at the last minute, and made the battle for forward spots even toughter.

"We had 17 forwards who fought for jobs," says Gustav.

Adam Almquist may also start the season in the AHL, while Joakim Andersson's the only one left of the young players.

The other Swedes in the Red Wings' lineup ahead of their premiere Wednesday night at home against Buffalo are Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Alfredsson and Mikael Samuelsson.

Goalie Jonas Gustavsson is out for a little while.

Still no word as to whether Wednesday's game, which will air on NBCSN at 8 PM EDT, will involve any sort of airing of the player introductions, regardless of whether you cheer for them or not (I try to cheer for all of them, even if they're not my favorites. The exception was Brett Lebda, who Expressen reports is going to sign with Leksands IF of the Swedish Allsvenskan. I heard the Cup ring when he dropped the damn thing at Cheli's Chili in 2008, and I never forgave him).

I doubt it at this point, but we at least get to stop talking about personnel moves and then get to start watching players compete for jobs based upon their play starting tomorrow night.

The season previews resumed in earnest today with oodles of out-of-town stuff, and this morning, the Detroit News's Ted Kulfan provides Western and Eastern conference previews, as well as a Cup pick (Pittsburgh over St. Louis, seems to be catching on), suggesting this about the Wings...

"For our fans, they get to watch the games in our time zone,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “For our players, it’s less wear and tear with the travel. You see every team in your building at least once.”

Said Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard: “That’ll be the best thing, just getting to sleep in my own bed most of the time.”

One thing that’ll be interesting is how the Red Wings’ puck possession, skilled style works in the East. Generally speaking, the East has been viewed as the more physical conference. Toronto, Buffalo, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Boston were among the top 10 in total fights last season. The Red Wings, however, don’t believe they need to adapt to what could be a brave, new, physical world.

“I know what we’re going to do and that’s play like we’ve always played,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “That seems to have done pretty well for us.”

That’s an emphasis on skill and speed rather than fists flying.

“We really believe in toughness,” Babcock said. “We believe that toughness is toughness on the puck. You have to have the puck. I like 12 forwards that can all skate and handle the puck and I like six defensemen that can all skate and handle the puck.”

Travel-wise, the Wings are looking forward to leaving the West behind--mostly...

“The travel is going to be huge,” Abdelkader said.

Especially if the Red Wings reach the playoffs.

“That’s where you really feel it,” Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg said. “Every few days traveling West, it can be a grind.”

The top three teams in each of the four divisions will make the playoffs, and then two wild-cards will round out the field regardless of division, and then the first couple rounds will be intra-divisional matchups, unless they’re not. Bettman’s protestations aside, in a league whose standings are so often flattened by the three-point game, if you’re in the 14-team West you have a 57% chance of getting in, versus 50% in the 16-team East. Good news for Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg; not so good for Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. And potentially excellent news for the team that came closest to knocking out the Cup champion Blackhawks, even if it’s all new to them, too.

“We could sit here and I could tell you systems-wise what Chicago’s going to do, St. Louis, Nashville, Vancouver, L.A. — I can tell you what they’re going to do on their power plays, penalty kills, everything like that,” Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard told reporters earlier this month. “But to be honest, I can’t really tell you much about the Eastern Conference and what they’re going to be doing.”

Of course, the East doesn’t know much about Detroit, either. They will learn.

For years the Red Wings have been successful thanks to a blend of speed and skill, while the Boston Bruins have won with size and grit. Only one team can win the Atlantic.

"They are a puck-possession team and they’ve been doing that for a long time," Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron said of the Red Wings. "I don’t think we should necessarily change our system and really our approach. But you need to be aware of that."

Otherwise...

The Wings received four Cup finalist votes from ESPN's panel of experts, though four believe the Wings will lose the Cup to LA or Chicago...

8. DETROIT RED WINGS: The Wings had to win four straight to make the playoffs last year. But they made it for the 22nd straight season, and they took the eventual champions to overtime of Game 7 in the second round. They added Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss, and now they’re headed to the East, a move that should invigorate them with easier travel and more Original Six matchups.

Some think the Wings will have to adjust. The Wings are built on skill; six of their seven division rivals were among the top 11 teams in fighting last season. But the Wings feel the rest of the new Atlantic Division will have to adjust to them, and a player from a former Western Conference rival said: “They’ll win that division – easily.”

Maybe. The youngsters will have to keep growing the way they did last season and in the playoffs – guys like Danny DeKeyser, Brendan Smith and Joakim Andersson.

USA Today's Kevin Allen's picking the Wings to finish second in the Atlantic Division, and 3 of USA Today's 12 NHL experts are picking the Wings to make the Cup final, with Helene St. James picking the Wings to win it all...

5. How much will realignment affect the playoff picture? Dramatically, particularly with regard to making the playoffs. Adding traditionally strong Detroit and up-and-coming Columbus Blue Jackets makes it more challenging to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs last season, and one likely won't this season. Because the Pacific Division is so strong, the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks seem more vulnerable to missing the playoffs than in recent years. The wild card races will create a buzz because it's possible that five teams from one division could make the playoffs and only three from the other.

6. Will participating in the Sochi Olympics have an impact on NHL competition? It's difficult to draw any conclusions. In 2010, the Blackhawks had six top players (Toews, Kane, Seabrook, Keith, Hossa and Tomas Kopecky) reach the medal games and they won the Stanley Cup. But that tournament was in Vancouver. In 2006, when the Olympics were in Italy, meaning jet lag was a factor, the champion Carolina Hurricanes had one player in the medal games. The Detroit Red Wings had five players on the Swedish gold medal team and were the top regular-season team, but they were upset in the first round of the playoffs.

If you missed it, the NHLPA approved hybrid icing as a permanent rule change, and in addition to ESPN explaining the NHL's rule changes, I think I found an answer as to why Todd Bertuzzi and Kyle Quincey will have to roll their jersey sleeves down from their elbows, Pavel Datsyuk, Daniel Alfredsson and Johan Franzen will have to un-tuck their jerseys, and players like Bertuzzi, Stephen Weiss and all those who allow their hockey "breezers" to ride up over girdles, or the Filppula's of the league, skating around with torn hockey pant legs, might all find themselves penalized. ESPN's Scott Burnside reveals the reason the "jersey tuck" rules emerged:

The move to uniformity came out of the last GMs’ meetings and was part of the discussion at the summer competition committee meeting. We sort of get it. You don’t want players freelance accessorizing their gear, adding buckskin fringe a la old Neil Young or sequins or laces with bells on them. As one GM told ESPN.com, some of the guys were starting to look like “hobos”. So a little decorum isn’t a bad thing. But does it really matter if a player tucks in their jersey? Really? If it makes officials’ jobs easier because they can see the numbers more clearly, we get that too, but the player’s name on the back should also help in terms of identifying players for a foul. And does the NHL want to add more work for its officials? We can’t get the headshot rules right but let’s make sure players all look the same, so we’re going to give on-ice guys more work to do to make sure that happens. After the embarrassing show put on by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres in preseason, it just seems a little small of the league to have identified this as an issue that must be addressed.

The sweater tuck is just one area of equipment use the league is mandating be adopted uniformly around the league. They are also requiring that jersey sleeves be worn into the cuff of the player’s glove and that pant legs aren’t ripped or altered in any fashion.

Shifting focus back to the Red Wings' players and their "storylines," DetroitRedWings.com's Bill Roose penned a fine "Week Ahead in Hockeytown," previewing the Wings' three games this week and discusses Daniel Alfredsson's addition to the team with Alfredsson himself. I've repeatedly stated that the man may be 40, but he skates and shoots like he's 35, and it sounds like Alfredsson is indeed coming to Detroit with sky-high expectations and some fire in his belly:

“I think I play a two-way game. I expect myself to contribute offensively and a player that’s dependable in all situations,” he said. “If I had to rate myself I say I’m not good at anything and I’m not bad at anything. I can do it all, but I’m not the best in the world at anything.”

Luckily for the Red Wings, they just need Alfredsson to be himself. The former 40-goal scorer, who signed a one-year contract with the Wings during the offseason after spending 17 seasons with the Ottawa Senators, is expected to play on the second line along with Johan Franzen and center Stephen Weiss, who also signed with Detroit in the summer.

“We knew they were great players,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “Alfredsson's going to be huge for us on the power play. He's been showing that in the preseason games, how well he plays in those situations. Weiss also brings great depth to us, he's a great player. He's a leader on the ice when he's out there. He's always working hard and he's got some really good skills, too. They're great additions. That's exactly what we need.”

This week starts a new, and final, chapter for Alfredsson’s NHL career. He has said before that the 2013-14 season will be his last. He has played in 1,178 league games, and Wednesday’s season-opener against Buffalo will be the first time that he’s played in something other than a Senators’ sweater.

“I’ve been in Ottawa my whole career and looking at my situation I wanted to try something new and exciting,” Alfredsson said. “Get to a team that plays an exciting style, and also, with me as a right-handed shot, fill a role on the power play maybe. It was a real intriguing challenge for me.”

Some might think that Alfredsson’s best days are behind him. He averaged 59 points over the last four full seasons. But he thinks a change of scenery can be rejuvenating.

“You have to prove yourself again. Coming into camp you’re a little bit nervous, how am I going to fit in? It’s everything you think about when starting something new. I was extremely comfortable and taken good care of in Ottawa. We were set. We led a great life. I look at this as a challenge for me personally and professionally, but also for us as a family. You make a change and you have to adapt and grow as people.”

I was incredibly disappointed when the CBC didn't post Elliotte Friedman's interview with Weiss from Saturday's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. I thought the clip was just fantastic in terms of filling out Weiss's personality.

Thankfully, We All Bleed Red on YouTube posted the clip, and it's worth a couple views:

Jeff Hoggan probably won't play for the parent club, but his intermission interview revealed a bit about the Grand Rapids Griffins captain's character, too:

Ted Lindsay Foundation is looking for volunteers! We need people to help out at BeerFest on Saturday October 12th from 11-5 at 14900 Metropolitan Parkway, Sterling Heights. Please message our FB page with your name, age, as well as why you would like to volunteer and two references. Thank you!

I'm providing moral support to the guy who I thought would never get married, and would instead split into two Marks by mitosis...

And finally, we should know more about the Wings' roster for their home opener later today, but in the interim, this story struck me as quite convenient given that the Red Wings' parent company, Ilitch Holdings, announced the hiring of a new vice president of their real estate arm. Per the Detroit News's Louis Aguilar:

The Temple Hotel, probably the last of pay-by-the hour hotels in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, has been sold in yet another mystery acquisition in the low-income neighborhood that’s likely to be recast as a $650 million entertainment district.

Who bought the Temple Hotel and how much was paid for the four-story building at 72 Temple St. is unknown. The asking price was $3.7 million, which is about $3.6 million more than any other publicly listed sale made on the block between Woodward and Cass avenues. Several blighted buildings have been sold on the block, however their selling prices have not been made public.

The former hotel is now across the street from the planned $450 million multipurpose arena that will be the new home of the Detroit Red Wings.

...

The sale has yet to be publicly recorded. When it is, the new owner will likely go through the steps to hide their identity, according to a person familiar with the sale.

East of the historic Masonic Temple at Park Street, the hotel was bought in 1987 for $70,000 by Basil and Robert Rayis, who are brothers. For a while, it flourished with the rough-and-tumble Cass Corridor crowd, Robert Rayis told The Detroit News in 2009.

“Man, it was popping and rocking, thousands of dollars a night,” Robert Rayis said at the time. “Someone shot a bullet through the window and someone. . . threw a Molotov cocktail through the plate glass. I had a couple threats to my life. You slap guys around, you point a gun at their eyes, you let them know you’re going toe-to-toe and pretty soon, you got your respect.”

...

Since 2010, The Detroit News has reported on a series of mysterious land deals in the Cass Corridor — mainly involving blighted properties. Although it was widely speculated the property was being amassed for an arena project, the deals were cloaked in secrecy, with sellers signing confidentiality agreements and buyers not revealing themselves through public documents.

In June, city officials said the buyers of those deals had been a mix of properties owned by the city and by Ilitch Holdings.

As I've said, while I can't possibly justify the cost of the rink or its partially public subsidization, I can at least tell you that it's going to be built on the gnarliest, nastiest neighborhood between mid-town and downtown, and that much is a good thing.

Comments

since they are talking about oullette and coreau going back to minors I don’t think they have to spend exactly to the cap on a daily basis just for 24 hrs get someone on long-term IR. this is a boon to the PA because it encourages every contending team to spend to the cap. inflation could run out of control again like the last cap. they will still complain about escrow but this is a terrific tradeoff for them

If you would’ve told me two months ago that both Nyquist and Tatar would both be healthy, but neither would be in the opening day lineup…I would’ve totally believed you. They are, after all, *air-quote*NHL-ready*air-quote*.

I hope Samuelsson gets used to being booed, because things are going to get real ugly for him real quick unless he starts putting up points ASAFP.

But early going in the season, tie goes to the veteran, not the kid. That’s just life.”

That is not just life it is a Babcockian theory. Bert,Sammy, Cleary are near or past the end of their careers and should be in Leino’s Lounge as backups in case of Injury, etc. The Kids playing time should be maximized.

Sit your useless butt down Sammy! He is not a 4th Line player and for that matter no team in Hockey will ever want him including the Wings. He was smart enough, I must admit, to BS his way out of a Buyout. A 1 year injury will end this Holland signing blunder. He doesn’t make many but this was one. Maybe Cleary was signed knowing Glass Sammy would never make it through 82 Games. Cleary may have no knees but he does have a Huge Heart. Bert can play his 10 mins and get loosened up for a Shoot out. I can’t even comment on Monster, except he has a Sammy body. A trade for picks or prospects hopefully will happen sooner than later. The rest of the Team is going to be Fun to watch!! From Canada with NHL Centre ICE. No more Ron MacLean!

I can tell you that as much as I like Tomas Tatar as a player and person, his performance tailed off at the end of the exhibition season.

I wonder how much of that “tail off” had to do with playing a total of 103 games last year (including 24 tough playoff games) and how much of it had to do with being distracted by the uncertainty of his status with the Wings. I think he hinted at the latter when he said…

Tatar questioned whether he’d fit with the Wings after Cleary was brought in on the opening day of training camp, which, Tatar said Monday made him, “a little shaky. I’m happy I made it here.”

I love how Babcock pulls out contradictory “mantras” whenever it justifies the decision he’s made. Sometimes it’s “the best players get to play” and other times it’s “the tie goes to the verteran” (even though it was pretty obvious to everyone that both Gus and Tatar outplayed Sammy and Bert).

To the credit of both Gus and Tatar, they’re saying the right things and appear to be staying positive. But it just has to leave some questions in their minds about the Wings commitment to the young guys. And I’m sure what’s happening is also being duly noted by guys like Jarnkrok, Pulkinen, Jurco and others.

About The Malik Report

The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.